5 Apps Every Trucker Needs
According to some researchers, one person uses on average 10 apps every day, and around 30 different ones in a time period of one month. Which means that 69% of the time we spend on digital media is actually spent on mobile apps. No wonder there are over 1.91 million apps available both on Apple Store and Google Play.
A lot of truckers consider their mobile phones a lifeline to the rest of the world, including their employers, the people they pick up from and deliver to, friends and family, and emergency services if they’re needed. And to make their lives easier, mobile apps developers have created many mobile apps that can help them in their everyday truckers life.
Here is a list of our selection of apps that will make your life on the road easier:
Google Maps or Waze
Not just for truckers but If you don’t have a robust, trucker-centric navigation device in your truck (and you should have!) you should have Google Maps on your phone. Its street and satellite views can help you identify an exact location and where you should enter a facility.
If you happen to be a company driver, more than likely you don’t have to worry about where to fuel and the price of diesel. That's up to the company to worry about. But, if you do need to keep one eye on the fuel gauge and the other on your wallet, Gas Buddy is a good option. It has prices for over 150,000 locations. Another app for finding and checking the price of diesel is Fuelbook.
AccuWeather, The Weather Channel,
There is no shortage of weather apps. It makes sense to spend a little time with each and find the one that suits you best. However, you ought to have a couple, one of the major ones and one that can provide a bit more specialized information. Drive Weather shows you the weather you can expect to encounter along your specific route so you know what’s ahead. Storm Shield delivers alerts for severe weather and provides a radar view so you can see the details. Also, you may want to look for the app of the local TV station's weather if you're driving the same lanes regularly.
Truck parking is a major pain. Any help you can get finding a place to park, take it! Some of the multi-function apps include parking information. NATSO's Park My Truck allows any parking provider -- commercial or public, paid or free -- to list the truck parking it has.
Truck Stops
If you’re a company driver, the carrier you work for most likely will have a preference as to where you refuel. They may even issue you a card to use when filling up. However, you still ought to have the apps for at least the three major truck stop chains and -- if they have them -- ones for major independents where you run. A growing number of truck stop services are accessed with the apps, reward points accrued, and even free food or merchandise made available.